Definitions from Fishing Facts Magazine and Buck Perry (RIP) the father of modern structure fishing.
A steep drop off is called a breakline. Stumps or rocks that are on that breakline are referred to as "Breaks".
A tree is a tree is a tree. LOL A laydown is a tree that has fallen over into the water. If the tree is along a breakline you could also call it a Break on the breakline. Most fishermen will know what you are talking about these days.
Most of the time you have a hard time telling whats down there on the bottom unless you have an underwater camera or a sidescanning sonar unit.
What you look for is drop offs. Flooded Creek channels in reserviors often drop off quickly into deep parts of the creek from the old creek banks. River channels that run through the reservoir do the same thing.
Points along the main bank that drop off into the deeper water are also a form of a break line.
You can have Primary breaklines and secondary breaklines. Think about a reservoir that has different depths during the summer and winter. And then think about the wave actions along the shoreline in summer vs the winters shore line. The Summer time bank may be the first breakline and the winter time banks are the secondary breaklines.
A breakline's depth change is relative to the surrounding water. a small creek flowing though a flat can have a 2ft depth and the edge of that small ditch could be considered a breakline.
Or a large creek flowing though a 100,000 acre reservoir can also be considered a breakline.
Bends in a breakline such as a bend in the old submerged creek channel would be a special feature and would have an outside edge and and inside edge.
Weedlines can also be considered a breakline. Normally weeds will grow to a certain depth and then stop growing in deeper water. Due to the water clarity and the lack of sunlight in the depths. These weedlines are often associated with secondary breaklines in reservoirs.
Originally Posted by mighty